An Evil Little One Shot
by Growlithe
Summary: as the title suggests. summer after 'tower incident'. harry corners sev, order discovers something important about sev. can they get to him in time? bit o' language, torture, and character death. R&R? first try at angst


**This is an evil little one-shot that has been plaguing me for quite some time. It wouldn't leave me be while I was working on chap 6 of To Love a Wolf, so I typed it up and here it is. sigh now that this is written, tho, I'm off to finish TLaW. Since I always tell you what I'm listening to as I type, I shall. It's a bit different this time—Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18. It's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43. Very lovely, it is. Yes, piano concertos get me in a dark mood. You should see me when I'm listening to Beethoven. grins Naw, I actually wrote this in a notebook in geometry class Friday. But, I'm rambling again. Here it is—let me know how you feel about it. puts in a Josh Groban CD **

**Warning: this fic is rated for a bit of language, torture, and character death. O, and HBP spoilers, I guess. But really, if you don't know about Dumbledore by now you need to crawl out from under your little rock and get a move on. grins **

**Disclaimer: I own not something. **

**An Evil Little One Shot by Growlithe**

It was the summer after sixth year. Only a few weeks had passed since the murder of Albus Dumbledore. Most of the students had stayed for his funeral, and they had returned home in tears. Some were affected by this tragedy more than others, and it was these who were watched closely. One never can be too careful with an unstable person, after all. Not all of the unstable ones were noticed, however. A few hid behind masks while their grief grew steadily on the inside. The grief turned to anger, and anger to hate. One such student was none other than the Boy Who Lived.

Harry Potter was wandering down the streets of Little Whinging. It was a cold and dreary day, and it matched his mood perfectly. He was perhaps the most depressed person in all of England right about now. Not only had his hero died, he had been murdered right in front of the boy's eyes. And, to make matters worse, he had warned Dumbledore that Snape was in on Malfoy's plan.

_Damn it! _Harry kicked the curb in anger. _Why hadn't the old fool listened to him? Why couldn't he see that the bastard was up to no good?_

As Harry turned onto Magnolia Crescent, he spotted a figure down a side street. _A tall figure with shoulder-length black hair and had a hooked nose and piercing black eyes. _Surely not. After all, why would Severus Snape be here? Unless……

Harry followed Snape, slowly gaining on him. He finally caught up with him in an alleyway. Being careful not to be heard, he slowly picked up a metal pipe lying near the wall. Timing his swing, he landed a blow to the base of Snape's skull, causing the man to slump to the ground. He then dragged him into what he knew to be an old abandoned mill and, with a long chain he found there, bound him to one wall.

Leaning against the opposite wall, he decided to wait for Snape to regain consciousness before the real fun began.

The members of the Order of the Phoenix were all congregated in the kitchen of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. They were looking through files taken from Dumbledore's office.

"Minerva?" Kingsley Shacklebolt called down the table. "I think you should take a look at this."

Minerva McGonagall went over to Kingsley. He pointed at the small phial in front of him. "It was in a file marked 'innocence'. Should we break it?"

Minerva nodded and took the small phial from him. This phial was kind of a cross between a pensieve and the containers the prophecies are kept in at the Ministry. A copy of a memory was placed inside it, and to be viewed the phial was broken. It would then be as if the entire room had stepped into a pensieve as the scene played out before and around them.

Everyone watched as Minerva tossed the glass onto the center of the table. Mist rose from it and they found themselves in Dumbledore's office.

_Dumbledore was sitting at his desk watching Snape, who was standing with his hands on the mantle as he gazed dejectedly into the fire blazing brightly in the fireplace. _

"_I do not know what to do, Headmaster. I wish I had never made the vow in the first place. It was idiotic," he murmured. _

"_Severus, my dear boy," Albus move to stand beside him. "You did what was necessary to assure you loyalties. With Bellatrix in the room, _ _you had no choice."_

_Snape grunted and continued to gaze at the fire._

"_What is your task?" Albus prodded gently._

_Snape looked into Albus' eyes for a moment before he turned away. "I have been ordered to…to kill you."_

_Albus sighed and wrapped an arm around the shoulders of the man he had come to love as a son. "Do it," he commanded softly._

"_What?" Snape blinked in surprise._

"_When the time comes, I want you to be the one to do it."_

"_Albus, no," Snape started to protest before he was cut off._

"_Severus, I am dying anyway. This cursed affliction has already taken away my hand. I'll die within months anyway. If you kill me, much good will be accomplished. Harry will not function to his full potential as long as I am around. Take me away, and he sill no longer be distracted by an old man's antics. Killing me will also secure your place among Voldemort's ranks. Surely he shall honor you, you're already his favorite." Seeing the younger man was about to object, he smiled softly. "Think of it this way—you'll be ending my torture, sparing me much agony. Surely that is incentive enough? Severus, I do not wish to suffer any more than is necessary."_

_Snape bowed his head. Finally, he looked into his mentor's eyes and, with tears streaming down his face, whispered, "I'll do it."_

As the men embraced each other in a fierce hug the Order was ejected from the memory. They sat in silence for a moment.

"He's innocent," Minerva smiled.

"Does anyone now where he is?" Molly Weasley asked anxiously. Everyone traded looks and Molly got suspicious. "_What_?"

"Last we heard, Potter was draggin' 'em down the street," Moody growled.

"Harry has him?" Molly shrieked.

"They boy'll kill him!" Remus Lupin jumped up. "We have to find them!"

Snape opened his eyes slowly; the first thing he was aware of was extreme pain.

"Finally back, I see?"

"Who? Potter?" he mumbled as he squinted at the figure in front of him. "What happened? Merlin, I think I've a concussion…"

"Your point?" Harry smirked as he stalked closer. When he had got to his prisoner he waved his wand, vanishing Snape's clothes from the waist up.

"Potter? What are you playing at?" Snape was starting to get worried at the gleam in his captor's eyes.

Harry said nothing as he opened his Swiss Army pocket knife. He stood nose to nose with Snape and smiled. Snape hissed as Harry lightly drew the blade across his chest just hard enough to draw blood. Harry continued to draw intricate patterns all over Snape's chest as the man groaned in pain, blood pouring steadily from his many cuts.

Snape tried to explain to Harry that he had come to warn the boy about something, but he couldn't remember what that something was and Harry was in no mood to listen anyway.

"Harry's not in his room!" Kingsley yelled from upstairs.

"I was afraid he wouldn't be here," Minerva sighed. The Order had immediately apparated to the Dursley's house, but was having a hard time finding them. "Where would he have taken Severus?"

"Remus?" Bill Weasley stopped suddenly. "Do you think you could follow his scent? Find where he is?"

"Great idea!"

Remus lifted his head and breathed deeply through his nose. "Yes, I can smell him. And someone else….Severus! It's Severus!" Remus ran out the door and they all raced down the street, down several side streets. "We're getting close!" he yelled over his shoulder.

Snape hung panting from his chains. His entire body was covered in blood, and he was having trouble staying awake due to blood loss. He lifted his head slightly so that he could see Harry, who was returning.

"Hey, Snape, I've a little present for you," he lifted the metal pipe from earlier. He laughed as a shudder wracked Snape's body. He drew the pipe back and swung it like a baseball bat, hitting Snape in the ribs and relishing the splintering crack that resounded. Harry drew back again, hitting him slightly higher than before. Snape couldn't hold back the scream as more of his ribs shattered.

The Order ran faster as a scream echoed down the street. "I smell blood. Lots of blood. He won't last much longer!" Another scream sounded down the street, quickly followed by another.

Harry laughed as the screams grew louder. Suddenly, Snape stopped mid-scream and went limp. He was near-dead and Harry knew it.

"Please…..don't….." Snape whimpered, his breath shallow.

Harry smirked. "Don't what?"

"Don't…..hit….please…."

"Okay, I won't hit you anymore." Harry's smirk grew more pronounced. "Goodbye, Snape." He raised the pipe and pointed it at Snape's bloody chest. "This is for Dumbledore," he snarled as the pipe raced towards his heart.

"They're in here," Remus panted as he sung open the door to the mill. The Order raced inside and was met by a gruesome site; blood was splattered everywhere and the stench of death was enough to make anyone go insane.

"Harry!" Molly was the first to spot the sixteen year old.

Harry turned toward the noise.

"Harry, what happened here? What have you done?" Arthur Weasley asked tentatively.

"Where's Severus?" Remus asked impatiently. "_Where is he_?"

Harry glanced over his shoulder at the unmoving body lying along the wall, a pipe protruding from the chest.

"What did you _do_?" Molly was beside herself.

Most of the group gathered around Snape's prone body while Moody and Arthur held Harry's arms to prevent him from running.

"Severus? Severus?" Minerva called, feeling for a pulse. "Oh my God, Severus, can you hear me?"

"Min….min….nerva?"

"Yes, yes, it's me," she all but sobbed.

"It was….his idea. He wanted…he…told me…."

"We know, luv. You're innocent. Free. Come now, you're going to be all right."

"No….I'm not."

"Don't you talk like that, young man. You'll not die. I won't allow it," Molly scolded gently as she placed a hand on his forehead to wipe the blood out of his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Molly. I…. I'm afraid it's over….for me….now," he closed his eyes as he struggled to breath.

"Severus, I'm so sorry. We should have gotten here before now. We wasted too much time…… I'm so sorry," Remus choked, fighting back the tears.

There wasn't a dry eye in the room as Severus reached out and grasped Remus' hand in his own. No, don't be. It….isn't your fault. None of it's your fault." His eyes glazed a moment before turning toward Harry, who by now had been updated by the two Aurors beside him. "I don't blame you either, Potter. I would have done the….same…had the situation been….reversed."

"Severus, don't talk like that. You're not going to die, is he, Bill?" Tonks begged frantically. Bill merely lowered his gaze, causing everyone else to begin to cry quietly. Except for Minerva, Molly, Tonks, Arthur, and Remus, who weren't even bothering to keep it down.

Suddenly, Snape smiled. It was the true smile of a man without pain or worry. A look of peace that no one thought possible was now gracing the face of the former Potions Master. "I'm coming, Albus. I'm…." he trailed off as his grip on Remus' hand loosened. His body went completely limp as the onlookers cried for the soul no-one had ever bothered to attempt to understand. No one would ever know what made him smile, how he felt, his favorite time of year, what his interest were. Severus Snape was gone from this earthly plane, never to know who would win the war that had been the cause of his and so many other deaths.

And Harry Potter would never know what he had tried to tell him that night……

**Yes, this is definitely an evil little one shot, isn't it? dabs eyes I know, I know, it probably sucked lemons, but I had to do it. Anyway, review and let me know how you feel about it. blows nose I'm off to finish chap 6 of TLaW. **

**This could stand alone, but if I get any reviews asking then I'll write a companion piece to this, explaining any- and everything you want to know….like, for example, Sev's little message……4**

**T2UL8R.**


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